1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disposable tree cover system. More particularly, the present invention relates to an inexpensive collapsible cover configured for efficient transportation and storage of a tree that prevents shed needles or leaves of the tree from escaping the cover during transportation and storage.
2. Background of the Invention and Related Art
It has become tradition to raise and decorate a Christmas tree throughout the Christmas holiday. Part of this tradition involves lighting and displaying the tree in a well traveled location. Trees are typically decorated with ornaments, candy, and electrical lights, among other decorations.
Living trees shed leaves/needles once they are cut and typically deposit a large amount of these needles over the course of the holiday season. Shedding of needles occurs at all times after living trees are harvested: during transport, during display, and especially on cleanup at the end of the holiday season. Typically, the shedding worsens as time goes on and the tree dries out and dies. Living trees must be transported from the location where they are cut to a location where they are sold, and from there to the home or business of the purchaser for display. Because transport of trees is most convenient when trees are bundled up, trees are most often bundled shortly after harvesting. Most potential purchasers, however, want to see the tree they are buying before making a purchase, so trees are usually unbundled for display during sale.
After a sale has occurred, the buyer typically does not have the space to transport an unbundled tree, or does not desire the hassle. Therefore, trees are often bundled again into a smaller package for transport by individual tree buyers. The bundle is then opened or removed again by the purchaser after the purchaser transports the tree to the final display location. At each of these bundling/unbundling stages, the trees are bundled and unbundled by different entities: while one entity bundles the tree, another entity unbundles the tree.
A typical cut living tree cannot be used more than one season because it will dry out and die. Therefore, living trees must also be disposed of at the end of the season. However, living trees are typically driest at the end of the season, and so the handling of living trees for disposal leads to additional and/or increased shedding of needles requiring cleanup. Therefore, many people wish to bundle the tree in a way that prevents the inevitable shed needles from spreading all over the location where the tree was displayed and during transport for disposal.
Similar problems may be encountered with artificial trees. In the case of artificial trees, the problem is usually not that the tree sheds leaves and needles. Instead, the user of an artificial tree usually desires to store the tree from year to year to reuse the tree the next year. In doing so, the user may not desire to remove all the decorations one year only to have to restore all the decorations the next year. Or the user may want to have all components of the artificial tree stored in the same convenient package to ensure that no parts are lost, as most artificial trees include multiple parts and sections. Artificial trees can be bulky to store, so the user of an artificial tree may want to have a storage bag that can reduce the volume of the artificial tree to be stored.
If a storage bag used to store/transport/bundle a live tree is to be reused and/or removed from a live tree (such as for display), it is disadvantageous for the removal process to involve applying forces to the tree's branches in a downward direction. When a tree is bundled, stored, and/or transported, its volume is typically reduced by applying an upward force on the branches of the tree to reduce the tree's overall diameter and volume. In the case of a live tree, the branches are typically sufficiently flexible in an upward direction to permit the tree's volume to be significantly reduced. In the case of an artificial tree, many artificial trees are provided with hinges that permit the tree's branches to hingedly bend upward and reduce the volume. If a downward force is then applied to the branches of a live tree (i.e. during removal of the storage system), it may cause large-scale shedding, damage to the tree, and/or catching/tearing of the storage system. If a downward force is applied to the branches of an artificial tree (during removal of the storage system), it may cause breakage of the branches, dislodgement of any stored decorations, damage to the storage system, etc. However, existing storage systems are primarily designed to be removed from the trees in a downward direction, leading to the exact problems discussed above.